Using AutolabJS-Initial Configuration
Please follow the steps given below in strict order.
- If Autolab is not already installed, please do install the same. For labs with less than 200 students, We suggest that you deploy all the components of Autolab on a single machine. Please follow the instructions given on single machine deployment page.
- Check the status of Autolab components. Let's say the IP address of the machine is denoted by machine_IP. In case you configured the Autolab for a domain name instead of IP address, please use the domain name in the following URLs.
| URL | Description |
|---|---|
| https://machine_IP | shows GitLab component home page |
| https://machine_IP:9000 | Autolab home page |
| https://machine_IP:9000/admin | Autolab administration page |
| https://machine_IP:9000/status | Status of load balancer and execution nodes |
All the above listed components must work before going to next step. If a component is not working, please uninstall and reinstall Autolab again.
1. Go to GitLab home page (https://machine_IP) and login as root user (using the gitlab root password set in deploy/inventory file). Create a user named lab_author. Do remember to set an appropriate password for lab_author. You can set / reset the password of a user by following these steps.
1. Login gitlab with root account.
1. Admin area--->users---> [search user and select] ---> edit ---> set password.
1. The lab_author user account acts as the repository for posting the solutions and evaluation code for all the programming labs.
1. The self sign-up option is enabled by default on GitLab. At this time, you can advise the students to sign-up for an account on GitLab. The username must be alpha-numeric with no special characters.
1. Go to the admin page of Autolab (https://machine_IP:9000/admin) to configure the labs. Autolab asks for the admin passkey (the key in deploy/configs/main_server/APIKeys.json). Autolab authenticates the course administrator against a known pass key. After pass key authentication, Create one lab with appropriate settings. Remember to save the result by clicking on save button. Sign out of course admin section.
1. To make the new settings effective, restart the mainserver autolab component.
sudo docker restart mainserver
1. The lab name given in Gitlab and the Lab_No (a string type) of labs.json / Lab name of admin config should exactly match for any proper setup.
1. See gitlab documentation on project creation for familiarity with project creation process.
1. Create a solution and evaluation code for the lab. Please follow the instructions given on creating and modifying a lab to complete this step.
1. Now, you can ask the students to submit their code for evaluation. Students can follow the instructions given on making a submission to complete the auto evaluation process.
References
- Gitlab documentation